SEATTLE (USA) — “We’re stuck with capitalism,” asserted a Boeing friend. Is this true?
Every day the bosses’ media feed us lies about how resilient capitalism is. They tell us no other system matches it. When our faith in this system is shaken, they blame temporary, unpredictable outside forces.
Financial gurus openly worried about a worldwide recession after global stocks plunged the last week in February, and again on March 9. The bosses’ economists even called it the “coronavirus recession.”
For months, Boeing workers have been discussing the internal contradictions of capitalist production. Chief among these is the dialectical contradiction between the huge forces of production (factories, machines, workers, etc.) and the capitalist relations of production.
The capitalist owns and controls factories, machines, etc. For production to proceed, workers are forced into a specific kind of relationship with the capitalist.
These relations of production are involuntary. The system forces us to submit to exploitation in order to survive. Hence, the term “wage slavery.”
Capitalism also requires markets and production for sale. Profits are the goal. The capitalists must compete for the biggest market share. Overproduction is inevitable. It’s the driving force behind Boeing’s MAX debacle.
If there is an immediate global economic catastrophe, it will not be because of the coronavirus. It will be because the inherent contradictions of capitalism make it weak.
“All you need is to push the economy with your little pinky, and it goes over the edge,” said another Boeing worker.
Some business pundits admitted the virus was “a trigger.” They blamed other economic weaknesses like tariffs and the burgeoning trade war. But tariffs did not cause the weakness. They were the result of the weakness: global overproduction caused by the internal contradictions of capitalist production.
Communism Beats Capitalism Hands Down, Especially in Emergencies
Communist relations of production will create a much more resilient system. Communist relations are based on mobilizing for our collective needs, not profits. This mobilization is based on voluntary communist commitment.
Such commitment does not emerge spontaneously. The ICWP is dedicated to struggling for it—now and in the future.
Workers committed to communism will view production differently. They will take initiative, not just wait for orders. This contrasts starkly to the cynicism and alienation we witness in the factory today.
Communist production is also infinitely more flexible. It is not hamstrung by the necessity to produce profits for a company or nation.
Whenever one area suffers a shock, other areas will swing into action. Whatever is produced or grown anywhere will be for the collective needs of us all. We won’t be at the mercy of a paycheck.
Sometimes capitalist producers respond to catastrophe, but usually it’s to extract exorbitant profits. Workers can’t afford whatever is produced, even life-saving medicine or treatment.
Communist relations of production will allow us to make decisions on what and how much to produce based on the masses’ welfare. For instance, we could have dozens of facilities ready to produce test kits like the ones for COVID-19. No more limits because of profitability concerns.
Working collectively for our common good will help teach us to trust one another. These bonds of trust will help lay the basis of communist collectivity throughout society. Our production facilities will not only create the material goods we need, but also activate communist masses. No force on earth is greater.
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